The Chapel Hill Police Department charged a Durham man in connection to a December armed robbery on South Elliott Road.

Authorities charged Elmer Jose Mejia Guardado, 22, of Durham with robbery with a firearm and conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm. The release said Guardado was in the Durham County Jail when the charges were delivered.

Chapel Hill Police responded to calls of an armed robbery on December 18, 2019, at the Tienda Mexicana La Guadalupana on South Elliott Road. A spokesperson for the department said at 11:14 a.m., a suspect held up the store before taking a laptop and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Durham County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested Guardado on January 3 in Durham on similar charges. A search warrant led to the discovery of items linking him to other robberies of various Latino businesses around the Triangle.

“Inside of [Guardado’s] apartment,” said a release from the office, “investigators located clothing used in numerous robberies, currency, a cash register, and numerous other items related to the commission of these crimes.”

Guardado’s bond at the Durham County Jail stands at nearly $1.2 million following the addition of the Chapel Hill charges.

Photo via Durham County Sheriff’s Office.